Going Up

It’s 50 minutes into Sandy’s dive and she is noodling around under the boat, snapping shots of corals, macro creatures and her fellow divers.  Checking her pressure gauge, Sandy sees it’s time to go up.  Sandy cannot wait to share her dive experience with everyone on the boat during the surface interval, and before she knows it, she’s at the surface.  The mistake here is that Sandy stopped diving before she got out of the water.  Just as important to the safety of a dive as gear, buoyancy, and attention to gauges is the ascent, and sadly, many divers never give it a thought.

At the end of the dive, the first thing that should happen is that the diver communicates with his dive buddy.  Compare gauges for NDL and tank pressure.  Even though you dived together, it is always possible for one member of a buddy team to require more deco/safety stop time than the other.  Air allowing, buddy teams should ascend and make those stops together.  This is important so each person has nearby help if an emergency should occur.

After agreeing to make the ascent, dump a little air from your BC. This allows proactive control of the ascent, allowing more time to respond to increased buoyancy due to expanding air.  Remember that you want to remain neutral or a little negative throughout your ascent to make sure you do not blow through your safety stop at 15 ft.  While 30ft./min is generally recommended as the rate for safe ascents, it is preferred, if you have one, to allow your computer to guide you.  As you ascend, keep a hand on your dump cord and a hand on your gauges.

Be aware of what is overhead and around you.  Nothing spoils a dive experience like doing a header into the bottom of the boat, coming up underneath another diver, or passing through a swarm of stinging jellies.  Again, control of the rate of your ascent along with attention to your surroundings, will go far to help avoid mishaps.

Once the safety stop depth is reached, make yourself neutral and relax.  You are still diving, so look around! Many times bigger animals vacate dive sites when groups of divers are around, but return when the divers are on their safety stops.  The safety stop has gone from optional to a routine part of a dive.  The usual safety stop, three minutes in length, allows the diver’s blood to circulate through his body three times.  This is important because it is easier to exhale the gas than to deal with it once it forms a bubble.  The small amount of pressure at 15ft. is enough to keep the nitrogen in circulation so it can be safely exchanged for oxygen in the lungs.

At the end of your safety stop, again check that your buddy is ready to make the final ascent to the surface.  Ascend close to the boat, but not under it or the swim ladder. If other divers are on the swim ladder, get over to the current line so you will not be pushed away from the boat by surface current. Inflate your BC so you can float comfortably and switch to your snorkel. When it is your turn to exit the water, get yourself over to the boat, but again, never directly below a diver climbing the boat ladder! To make sure that you are not separated from the boat, hold onto a line or the rung of the swim ladder when taking off your fins. Lengthen the straps and hang them on your wrists, or hand them up to a boat crew member, then make your way up the ladder.

 If your exit point is at the shore, swim in to a depth a little over your waist.  Remove your fins, enlisting your buddy’s help to stabilize you in the surf. If there are big waves, it is a good idea to keep your regulator in your mouth, so if you are knocked down, you are not in danger of drowning before you can make yourself upright again.

In a novel, the middle part is the most memorable, but without the set up in the beginning and the conclusion tying up all the details in the end, it will never make a best seller. Dives are like that.  A diver must pay attention to all the parts of the dive; descent, exploration and ascent to make the experience a great one.

SIDE NOTE:  Tis the season for gifts and giving and Manta Divers has just thing for that scuba divers on your list.  During the months of December, we a number of great deals so stop on into the shop and check them out.  What if the people on your list don't dive?  Perhaps your could sign them up for a class!  What better gift could you give than the world of scuba?  It is the gift that keeps on giving.

Oh boy! Buoyancy!

As I prepared for this weekend’s Buoyancy Clinic at the Rec Plex pool, I thought back to when I was a new diver.  In class, I imagined myself mastering the buoyancy skill quickly; after all, how hard could it be?  Air in to go up, air out to go down!  I learned soon enough, however, that it was not nearly as easy in the water as it had been in my head.
We all were taught in class that good buoyancy is valuable not only because it can help protect the diver and the marine environment from harm, but it helps to preserve underwater visibility.  Most of all, though, is that it helps the diver to relax and exert less energy, which leads to decreased air consumption.
Once new divers are free of the stress of having to demonstrate their underwater skills, and they start to dive without their instructor, their “blinders” come off.  They see themselves as a peer to other certified divers, but recognize that they still have a way to go with regard to their technique.   They start to understand the consequences of losing buoyancy and stirring up the bottom of the lake.  They see that some divers are floating without finning or struggling to maintain position in the water.  Most of all, they wish that they were not always the first one back on the boat with only 500psi.

Also, if you encounter a plant in a pool, remain calm.
Paniked breaths waste air!

So how does a diver improve his buoyancy?

Number 1: Weights

• Use only as much as you need.  Newer divers tend to be overweighted because they have not yet gained enough confidence in their skills to relax.  Their breathing rate is increased due to nervousness and the energy expended making lots of unnecessary movements, such as waving their hand to descend or keep themselves from rolling over.  The more relaxed the diver, the less weight they need.  The added bonus of losing a little lead, is that the diver’s descent rate decreases allowing more time for equalizing.  Perform a buoyancy check at the beginning of each dive and reassess your weight needs.  With your wetsuit fully saturated with water and no air is trapped inside, deflate your BC and hold a full breath of air.  DO NOT MOVE!  If you are floating at eye level, then you are close to the right weight.  When you exhale all of your breath, ideally, you will float down like a leaf.  It will probably be necessary to take an additional quick breath in to allow you to continue to descend, but once you have a couple of feet of water above you, breathe normally and continue to your planned depth.
• Make sure you are using the right configuration of weights.  Many BC’s have “trim pockets” which allow the diver to move some of the weight towards his head.  This works to keep the diver’s fins in line with his body, rather than trailing below him.  When a diver is in a more horizontal position, it has the added advantage of decreasing inadvertent fin contact with aquatic life.  Conversely, if the diver tends to be in more of a “head down” position, moving the weights lower by lengthening his BC straps transfers the weigh toward the fins and aids in a more horizontal posture in the water.

Number 2:

Make sure your BC fits.  Occasionally, the BC a diver is issued during class or at the rental counter at the dive resort may not be exactly the right fit. If the BC is too large, it will be sloppy when trying to turn or move in the water. At times it can feel as though the tank is sliding off your back. A BC that is too small may not provide adequate lift.  The BC should be snug without restricting breathing or movement.  Owning your own BC makes it easier to fine tune buoyancy because it is the right size and the fact that the diver is familiar with it will decrease stress.
Number 3:
Breathe slow and deep.  Slow, deep breathing is used in relaxation classes for good reason: it has the physiological result of slowing your heart beat and therefore your breathing rate.  It also has a calming effect, reducing stress and tension.  Remember that your BC is your course adjustment for buoyancy, but your lungs are the fine tune. As a diver inhales and exhales, he moves up and down in the water.  When the breathing is steady and the rhythmic up and down movement predictable, divers can anticipate their position and use that to their advantage.

Number 4:
Check your gear.  Know that whenever you add or subtract gear, even something as minor as a flashlight, your buoyancy can be affected.  Certainly any major change, such as a new BC or wetsuit, or change of environment, such as saltwater to fresh may warrant a significant change in the actual amount of lead you carry, whereas adding a camera may only necessitate shifting weights to a lower or higher position on your body.

Number 5:
Practice.  I estimate that when a diver really works on his buoyancy, it takes about 15 good dives to really start mastering the skill.  If a diver does not work on it of course it will take longer.  Get out there and dive. If you want some expert coaching, choose Peak Performance buoyancy for one of your Advanced Open Water adventure dives, or take the Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty course.  

Please note: Hovering is not the same as levitation 

Good buoyancy is a key skill to master if a diver wants to really enjoy the sport, but it comes naturally only to a lucky few.  The rest of us must work on it and find those keys that will unlock Find a dive buddy and learn the joy and freedom that proper buoyancy gives you.

If you are interested in improving your buoyancy, we have added another clinic to the schedule.  Join us at the Rec Plex on March 9 at 8am.  Prior registration is required. Stop in at the shop and get signed up! As always, please like us on Facebook, share this blog on Twitter or leave a comment and give us some feedback.  We would love to hear from you!  Tune in next week for “6 things you need to know so you won’t be “that guy” on the dive boat.”